- Ok...would you rather be 4-1 with a healthy Cushing, or 5-0 with Cushing out for the year with a torn ACL? 5-0 is pretty, but I take 4-1 100 times out of 100. Cushing was a key part of this D, and losing him is not a good thing, point blank.

- Before you start rabbling on about "that cheap play!" made that took Cush out, remember that we run the same damn play on a weekly basis, and we use it on several plays in several drives. You don't like cut blocks, fine...but be consistent, don't like it when it springs Arian Foster for a 40+ yard gain, or buys Matt Schaub that extra two seconds to find a downfield target. It's easy to hate something when it costs you something, but don't turn a blind eye to it when we use it to great results.

- Either Antonio Cromartie is VERY good, or Andre Johnson has lost a step...or 10. Willing to concede to either, as Cro looked like an amazing CB yesterday. He even looked pretty good on that stutter/go route he beat Jonathan Joseph on, guy is an athletic talent. That being said, I can't help but to notice that AJ just isn't moving like he used to; He tried to shake and rattle against Cro, and nothing was getting him off. AJ was bottled up for the entire game yesterday, save for that quick 15 yard curl route, and that quick stop route that AJ blatantly droppped. If we're gonna be a contender, AJ needs to find his gear and his hands and make plays out there.

- JJ Watt. That's it. That's all I wanna say.

- Don't look now, but Owen Daniels is back in a BIG way. Seems like I've been saying this a lot this season, but yesterday was an example of Daniels now serving as the bell cow in the Texans passing game. Guy is running some pristine routes, using double moves in his routes and extending his hands outwards to make nice grabs on well thrown balls. Also somthing to note, is that OD isn't as much of a liability in run blocking; There were a few plays where he pulled out and sealed off the backside, allowing Arian Foster to find the cutback lane quickly. While he's no Gronk or Graham, OD is quietly playing at an All Pro role, and might be one of the top 3 assets the team has on offense.

- This has been a point of discussion in the past, but I'll say it again - if it's 3rd and short, or if you are in the RZ and need 1-3 yards, you DON'T want the Texans OL as your lead blockers. This is the trade-off for employing the ZBS, and that is that you're never going to get the inside surge needed to recreate the LOS on short run plays. There were a few times where the Jets had their jumbo DL in, and we couldn't push it past the marker for a new set of downs. It happens, and it's the nature of the ZBS. In this system, you're not going to get the big 'uns to make those plays happen, so Kubiak and Co. need to dig into the playbook to find an alternate way to get those yards. (I personally like that weakside screen to James Casey...)

- Trindon, you tried hard and gave us quite the ride in the Preseason, but your time is done. If I wanted a KR/PR who could wave fair catch every other punt, or make bad decisions and take KRs out of the endzone and start out the 13, I would have Justin Forsett or DeVier Posey back there. Trindon was meant for ONE thing, and that's big returns. Over 1/4 of the season has been played, and Trindon has nothing resembling a big return on his resume this season. It's time to cut ties, let him latch on somewhere else.

- If it seems as if I am being negative after a win, it's because...I am being negative. I am happy with the win, happy that we made plays when they were needed, happy that certain aspects I had been questioning decided to show up (Foster and his YPC, Brice McCain making positive plays, Kareem Jackson still playing stellar football) but all in all, this was our most lackadasical performance to date. There were a lot of points left on the field, a lot of points that should of been kept away from the Jets. This is a team and a game that should have never been in question, but we questioned things from the big KR onwards. There were many times in which I felt the Jets could of stole this one, and if the Texans are going to be THE team in the NFL, outings like this should be few and far between.

- All of the above being said, I'm happy this played out as so. Why? There is a part of me that thinks this team was starting to fall in love with its current image; They've read the power rankings, they saw they were in the catbird seat, and they got content. Now? They know that just showing up for the cameras isn't going to get the job done, and now without one of the two top defensive players on the field for the season, I would highly doubt they take much for granted any more. Yesterday, this team seemed fat and happy with what they've done. I doubt this will be the case moving forward (well, at least I hope) and if Kubiak has his way, they will all be out there, hungry and ready for our SNF game against the Packers._________________

ET I don't think you quite understand that the play that Cushing was hurt on was not a legal cut block, or even close to it._________________All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost

Cro is playing lights out this year, ProfootballFocus has his rated really high. I am not to worried he hasn't been beat like he has in the past. In previous weeks Johnson has gotten open with ease. I am not worried at all.

QB - Schuab played well, but was ultimalty handcuffed my Kubs play calling. Ya he threw a pick but Cromartie baited him into that with having his back turned. B

RB - Foster did his part and came up with a big run when we were back up against our endzone. Forsett is no where near Tate, and Casey blocked great. I just wish like most of yall, that we'd use him more and maybe kub is saving that A

WR - Dre got shut down by Cromartie which is understandable. Walter stepped up and had some key plays. Martin with the end a round early worked well but when they tried that with Posey the Jets were ready. I think we miss Jean, hopefully he comes back this week. B-

TE - OD is having a huge season, didnt see much of Graham and I already talked about Casey. A

OL - The left side looked great and we often ran behind them, Caldwell and Newton played adiquatley but Harris and Jones are better. I hope we're not rotating in the playoffs. B+

DL - Watt is undescribable, Antonio played a pretty good game as well. A+

OLB - Connor actually made a small ripple with a couple tipped passes and a TFL. Brooks played solid and I believe came away with a sack. B+

MLB All things considered, they played a great game. Cush was on pace for a monster game before the injury, but this happens. Next man up! B+

CB JJoe was clearly not 100% and it showed, KJax is still showing us how much he has improved and McCain played probably one of his better games of the year. C+

S They targeted Glover early but he rebounded and both played a solid game. B

Specialist DONNIE JONES IS A BEAST! Graham was solid, squeaking that 42 yarder through. But Trindon you suck, or it may be Marrciano cause it seems like defenders are breathing down our necks as soon as he catches the ball. A for the kickers F for Trindon.

Coaching - Kub got out coached and his play calling will cost us atleast 1 game this season. What's frustrating is that his scripted plays to start the game are Guinness and we walked down the field for a TD. D-

In the general thread one of yall said its funny how a team can play so well except for a couple players and look bad, and that's exaclty what happened. JJoe and Andre did not bring their A game and we got exposed. But the Jets played like a team with alot on the line and it showed pulling out all the tricks in the book and we still won. On to the Pack.[/b]_________________
^CalhounLambeau on the sick sig^

ET I don't think you quite understand that the play that Cushing was hurt on was not a legal cut block, or even close to it.

I guess I need to see it again, because it looked as so when I watched it real time. Link?

Im in class, but I remember from the replays that Cushing's head was turned the other way and the Jets player dove into the back of his legs._________________All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost

Can't add too much else to the excellent analysis provided here. It's time to start a special teams thread as this very well could have cost us this game and DID in our last loss (Ravens). Time for changes here and not just with Holliday.

Dare I say it's also time for an AJ thread as this is 4 games in a row of sub-par performances (sorry, 2 catches in the Denver game were big but he also dropped a TD and admitted he was off in that game). I can live with a few mistakes, but his entire demeanor seemed off again last night and I'll flat out call out his effort. Saw more than one play where he didn't even bother to put a hand on Cromartie in the run game when he should put him on his butt and his effort on some routes seemed like he had just given up getting open (including the int). So I guess we just count on you being shut down by Tramon Williams man to man next week and dial up everything else to compensate? Get your head in the game, AJ! Where is your fight?_________________

Dare I say it's also time for an AJ thread as this is 4 games in a row of sub-par performances

In the previous 4 games he was simply not needed. He got off to fast starts in those games as well, but then wasn't targeted later on because we went into conservative mode. Also that dropped TD pass would have been an unbelievable catch if he came up with it battling Champ Bailey with one hand and trying to catch it with the other.

Also I dont agree with you saying his effort was lacking. His effort was clearly there, Cro just got the best of him. If you watch the routes he was running he was working really hard, Cro was just acting as a blanket.

Wow, I have been clamoring at the mouth all day to get home and write my review. There are so many things wrong at this point I am not sure where to start.

1. Andre Johnson, I love you man but something is not right. Here is a post from a medical guy on another forum

Quote:

Besides significantly limiting the plays that they target him, if you notice his routes are essentially avoiding acute cuts/curls/change of direction. They are straight-line or gentle angles. In their game play plans they are definitely showing sensitivity to avoiding moves that will encourage recurrence of hamstring, knee and ankle problems, while trying to further protect him from further aggravating his ongoing groin problem.

He was injured in TC and really has done nothing of significance this entire season. His routes are not crisp and I fear he is battling an injury.

2. Jonathan Joseph, why the heck he was playing last night is beyond me. He battled a groin problem ALL week and we played a scrub Jets team and yet they played him......you notice that Mark targeted JJo more than anyone? The guy better get healthy before this week or we're screwed. I am ashamed they kept him in the game while getting destroyed. And why is Harris even on this team, if he cannot contribute on ST or defense then cut him now.

3. Our run defense was great yesterday. We allowed 69 rush yards and 3.0 YPC, seems like Wade can pinpoint what to stop and focus on that, but cannot seem to stop both the pass and run at the same time. We allowed Mark to throw for some good yardage and if his wideouts could catch it would have been worse. Hopefully it was a fluke because JJo was hurt.

4. ST is a joke right now, Holliday is terrible, our coverage is worse and our blocking on kick and punt returns is bad. Marciano better figure out what the problem is and how to fix it because it WILL cost us a game and it almost did last night. This is a MAJOR concern right now.

5. ILB wtf are we gonna do now?!?!?!? I doubt we trade for anyone because it is not our way of doing business. I would like to see Braman in more and would love to see if Reed could play inside. Let Mercilus play OLB and kick Reed in. The problem is, I think this hurts our run defense GREATLY but really at this point, missing Cushing in general will hurt our run defense.